Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumPronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Read the sentence below. Which pronoun correctly completes the sentence to ensure proper pronoun-antecedent agreement?

Answer:The committee of urban planners presented 【its】 comprehensive redevelopment proposal to the city council during Tuesday's public hearing.

Answer

its
The singular possessive pronoun 'its' correctly agrees with the singular collective noun 'committee,' which functions as a unified singular unit. The intervening prepositional phrase 'of urban planners' contains a plural noun, but it does not change the singular nature of the subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the antecedent of the missing pronoun.
The antecedent is the collective noun 'committee.'
The sentence describes the entity that presented a proposal. The prepositional phrase 'of urban planners' modifies the noun 'committee,' but 'committee' remains the singular subject and head of the noun phrase.
2
Determine the proper number and gender for the pronoun.
The pronoun must be singular, neuter, and possessive.
Collective nouns like 'committee' are singular when the group acts as a single, unified entity. The singular possessive pronoun for a non-human entity is 'its.'

Key Concept

A pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent. Singular collective nouns acting as a unit require singular pronouns, even when followed by prepositional phrases containing plural nouns.
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

More questions from this topic